Vietnam seeks to improve care services for elderly

Policymaking for health care for the elderly in Vietnam was
discussed by domestic and foreign legal and health experts during a
conference in Hanoi on May 26.

Participants focused their discussion on the challenges in caring for the aged population in Vietnam.

Deputy
Director of the Health Ministry’s General Office for Population and
Family Planning, Nguyen Van Tan said the ageing population is posing a
challenge to Vietnam’s health sector, as healthcare services for the
elderly are suffering from a number of shortcomings.

Statistics
show that there were more than 8.6 million elderly people of 60 years
old and above in 2011, accounting for nearly 10 percent of Vietnam’s
population, while the rate of over 65-year-old was 7 percent and is
predicted to rise rapidly to 14.75 percent by 2039. Older Vietnamese
people mainly live in rural areas and over 70 percent of them must earn
their living themselves.

According to Prof. Pham Van Thang from
the National Geriatric Hospital, medical expenses for this group, which
takes up to 50 percent of society’s medicine, are 7-10 times higher than
those of young people. The elderly often suffer from diseases such as
high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer and need to be treated for the
rest of their lives, he said.

Vietnam issued the Law on the
Elderly in 2009 and also established the National Committee on Ageing
and launched a national action programme on this group.

Participants suggested that Vietnam should set a long-term strategy
to slow down the ageing population and maintain an appropriate birth
rate, while diversifying healthcare services for the elderly.
France’s models for caring for the elderly in hospitals and rest-homes were also introduced at the conference.-VNA